Geek Week: Wind River Improves on Android for Automotive

Everyone knows that Android is wildly popular in the mobile phone market. In the course of just a few short years, it went from literally zero (it didn’t exist on the market before October, 2008) to being king of the (smart phone) hill in about 3 years. But, for all of the advantages & benefits that Android has as an Operating System, it certainly is not perfect, especially for use in Automotive Platforms. That’s why Wind River (www.WindRiver.com), an Intel Company, is hard at work to make some very noticeable improvements.

For example, while Android is the clear leader in smart phones, many people still use Apple-based iPhones and iPods. So, Wind River demonstrates the ability to plug a iOS-based device into a Android-based reference design & play the media, such as music, stored on the iOS device. Also, while Android has a relatively decent boot time (typically under a minute), it may still feel long if it is in the central console in your car. So, tweaking the system, Wind River was able to demonstrate a 7-second boot time – which is about the amount of time it would take you to turn on your car & fasten your seat belt. Lastly, Wind River also shows how they can put Android-based applications into windowed-environment like you would have on your PC so that you can quickly move from one application to another.

For more information about Android Offerings from Wind River, please see:

So, that’s what was announced at MWC so far, but please leave use comments below as to what improvements you’d like to see brought to Android next!

About Eric Mantion

Eric is the Nerd Herder for Intel's Software & Services Group responsible for the Intel RealSense Community
You can find him online at:
- www.Twitter.com/CaptGeek
- www.Linkedin.com/in/ericmantion |
Eric graduated from the US Naval Academy, with a bachelor of science in Physics. He has served on Nuclear Powered Submarines and was attached to SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE. He has worked in the Semiconductor Industry for over 10 years and has held positions as a Product Marketing Engineer, a Senior Industry Analyst, a Competitive Intelligence Analyst, and a Technology Evangelist. In whatever spare time he has, Eric loves spending working out (especially Beach Volleyball), tinkering with computers, dabbling with Linux, exploring Android, and playing video games (especially StarCraft II & DOTA 2)